Peanut Butter Mochi
3 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 (16 ounce) box mochiko (sweet rice flour)
Katakuriko (potato starch), for dusting
Filling
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
To make filling, combine peanut butter and honey; refrigerate until firm, a few hours or overnight.
Bring water to a boil; add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add mochiko a little at a time, stirring constantly. Continue stirring over medium heat until lumps are dissolved.
Place dough on a surface dusted with katakuriko. Allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle with more katakuriko and knead a few times until smooth. Form into a log.
Pinch off a 1 1/2-inch piece of dough and flatten into a circle. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold edges around filling and pinch to seal.
Makes about 2 dozen mochi.
Variations: For strawberry mochi, coat strawberries in koshi-an (sweet bean paste), then wrap in mochi dough. Add red food coloring to the boiling water if desired to turn the dough pink. For chocolate-peanut butter mochi, substitute chocolate sauce for the honey in the filling, or wrap a chocolate Kiss in the filling.
South American Coconut Pastries
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
5 tablespoons orange juice
1 egg white
Coconut Filling
Sift dry ingredients into bowl; cut in butter. Mix in orange juice, a little at a time, until ball of dough is formed (dough will be rather dry). Press together lightly. Wrap in wax paper and chill 1 hour.
Roll the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut with a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Put 1 teaspoon Coconut Filling on half of each round. Moisten edges and fold over. Seal edges with a fork. Arrange on greased baking sheet and brush with slightly beaten egg white. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until delicately browned.
Makes 1 1/2 to 2 dozen.
Coconut Filling
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
3 tablespoons melted butter
Mix coconut, cornstarch, sugar and evaporated milk. Cook over low heat, stirring for 5 minutes. Add egg yolks and butter, stirring. Stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Cool.
Japanese Shrimp Sauce
From the kitchen of GrannyB
This is the shrimp sauce found in Japanese steakhouses. It is sweet and pinkish-orangish in color. You can substitute fat-free mayo, butter, and 0-calorie sugar, and it still tastes great.
Makes 1 1/4 cups (12 servings).
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/8 teaspoon garlic powder
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, granulated sugar, rice vinegar, melted butter, paprika and garlic powder. Mix well, cover and refrigerate.
Japanese Rice Crackers
Source: Another Taste of Aloha - the Junior League of Honolulu, Hawaii - 1994
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mochiko (sweet rice flour)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying
Glaze
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
Combine flour, mochiko, sugar, sesame seeds, baking powder and water. Add more water if needed to make dough stick together. Divide dough into 4 parts and roll each paper thin on floured board. Cut into 1-inch squares.
Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Fry crackers in batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.
Glaze: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine corn syrup, sugar and soy sauce and bring to boil. Cook glaze until it falls thick from spoon. Pour on cooled rice crackers and mix. Place crackers in a single layer on cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until dry.
Pork Stew with Beer (Seco de Chanco - Ecuador)
1 (2 pound) boneless pork shoulder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (8 1/4 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained
1 red serrano chile, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 (12 ounce) can or bottle beer
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
Hot cooked rice
Trim fat from pork; cut pork into 1-inch cubes. Heat oil in Dutch oven until hot. Cook pork over medium heat, stirring frequently, until all liquid is evaporated and pork is brown, about 25 minutes; remove with slotted spoon. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from Dutch oven.
Cook and stir onion and garlic in Dutch oven until onion is tender. Add tomatoes, chili, cilantro, salt, cumin and oregano; break up tomatoes with fork. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
Stir in pork and beer. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in red pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until pork is tender and sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes; skim off fat.
Serve with rice.
Yields 4 servings.
Japanese Chicken over Rice (Yakitori Domburi)
Yakitori is a sauce usually made with poultry, and it requires no marinating time. Domburi means that the dish is served over rice.
6 large chicken breast halves
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin or sake
1 teaspoon minced gingerroot
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 scallions (with tops), cut diagonally
into 1/4-inch slices
3 cups hot cooked rice
Remove bones and skin from chicken breast halves. Mix soy sauce, mirin, gingerroot and garlic in medium glass or plastic bowl. Place chicken in soy mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Drain chicken, reserving soy mixture. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet until hot. Cook chicken over medium heat until brown on both sides and done, about 15 minutes.
Heat water, sugar and reserved soy mixture to boiling in 3-quart saucepan; boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in scallions.
Cut each chicken breast half into 6 diagonal slices by holding the knife or cleaver at a 45 degree angle to the cutting surface. Place 6 slices on rice in soup bowl. Spoon hot liquid over chicken.
Yields 6 servings.
Plantain Chips (Patacones)
If sliced thinly, these are crispy chips. If thickly sliced, they have a creamy center and make a delicious vegetable side dish.
3 large green plantains, pared
and very thinly sliced
Vegetable oil
Salt
Cover plantain slices with ice water. Let stand 30 minutes; drain. Pat dry.
Heat 1 to 1 1/2 inches oil to 375 degrees F. Fry 12 to 14 plantain slices at a time, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Drain; sprinkle with salt.
Cold Noodles with Dipping Sauce (Soba)
1 (8 1/2 ounce) package soba granules (buckwheat noodles)
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon hon-dashi (dashi granules)
1 scallion (with top), thinly sliced
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1 tablespoon water
Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Heat water, soy sauce, sugar and hon-dashi to boiling; remove from heat. Cool; stir in onion and gingerroot. Mix wasabi powder and water to a paste. Divide noodles among 8 small bowls. Pour soy mixture into 8 small dipping bowls.
Serve with wasabi paste. Stir small amounts of wasabi paste into soy mixture to taste.